The Sea is a Salty One

  A local IFB church near my old house that had beaucoup of trouble too bizarre to detail involving a child molesting pastor. I am sitting here in all amusement watching Jim rush about madly trying to make everyone involved with his new church happy. I'm not dressed for church, I'm sitting here in my old cotton granny nightgown drinking coffee and listening to the phone conversations. He just said to me that perhaps he's too nice of a guy. You think? All this started earlier in the week when Velma, the older lady who likes to use our hot tub but has no idea how it gets hot , visited for another hot tub bout. Jim mentioned something about picking up Dave for church too, and she lost it on him, screeching she WOULD NOT ride into town, with Jim driving of course, to pick up Dave. Did I mention it's only about six minutes out of their way? Now I'm not as nice as Jim and that same afternoon I had an unfriendly exchange with Velma who started bemoaning that the virus is a...

Took this photo last week at Playa Grande. The fence along the blocked of parking lots and usually reads "Parque 1000 Colones" and the wall is now painted with the words "Peace On The Land And In The Water" Peace, simple peace, yes I am down for a spate of that. Unfortunately now is a time of rumor, rumors of war (against Covid) and no real answers. I did hear that the government in Costa Rica is extending the passports of we Americans here on tourist visas until November 19th, which is good news indeed. But at the same time we are having close to 400 new cases of Coronavirus daily. Much of the country is back in Phase two reopening with 5 pm curfews and Phase one license plate restrictions in the Orange zones. Tama is still in the Yellow zones, but tonight we are hearing that it is quite likely we are all going back to Phase One nationwide, that total lockdown for everyone with the only exception being going out twice a week for food or medications. I'm part...

A stump that washed ashore last week at Playa Grande. Even though the end part of the week was more like what I encountered on the main road through our village when I went to pick up medicine this very morn. Those grinning local road repair guys were at it, trundling over wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt over to the axle cracking potholes deep enough to bath in, dumping it and tamping it down while chortling and waving to me. I shook my head and smiled, knowing the first hard rain it would all dissolve. This was around 9 am. By 1 pm it was raining cats, dogs and iguanas, and all the dirt had washed out of the potholes. Life is getting too much lately, and I'm starting to feel grumpy again, as grumpy as last month when I had to keep telling friends to back the eff off on Facebook and phones. I couldn't figure out the why then, now I have a better handle on the why. Keep reading that people with empathetic tendencies are getting emotionally worn out in the time of COVID 19 ...

Just had a very upsetting conversation. Chewed out by a Bridezilla. My husband Jim has a friend he made back in elementary school he loves dearly. We've visited them off and on for years. He and his second wife have a daughter just about the age of our youngest. She was always bossy, opinionated and headstrong. Even as a small child. The last time I went with Jim to see these friends I wasn't too favorably impressed by the grown up version. What's cute in a child in small doses can be deplorable in adults. Loud, obnoxious in every single way, vulgar with language lousy with swear words. I cringed away from her every time she spoke, this future Bridezilla. I especially remember our final meal together on this trip. We took the family out and I was on tenterhooks the entire time. Copious drinking, ordering half the menu and then not eating it. After we were driving away at the end of the night Jim and I talked about how immature she was. I knew he would have a problem with he...

I have been kind of down and out for the count the last four days. My back. I've done something to the muscles just under the shoulder blade extending down to the top of my hip on my left side. Started in Arenal when I stupidly, clumsily, awkwardly did a header into the soap dispenser after slipping. Slipping again, wrenching those muscles. This isn't the first time, and it's unlikely to be the last time. Two years ago I threw my back out taking off my swimsuit. Last year it was when Stinky jumped off the headboard onto my back. C'est la vie. Here's the problem for me. I have a bleeding disorder. It comes it, it goes, and I don't know if it's active if I'm not having blood tests run, or bruising up terribly. It's intermittent. I know if they pull a few tubes of blood and I start bleeding like one of those dumb Grindhouse movies. Which means taking NSAIDS  is sometimes a very bad idea. Like right now. I was taking what I had, a form of Tylenol and nar...

A happy snap of a lovely friendly magpie jay begging us for food at the beachside taco bar this evening. This morning I ran around trying to find a swim suit to fit my husband and a few tee shirts for his Father's Day present. The tees were a hit, sadly the swim trucks in the biggest size the stores carry are too small. Back to the drawing board. We discovered this morning that one of the strays, the one we've named "Scabby" for the battle scars he carries, has moved in. Like really moved in. He has started to enter the house while I'm cooking. I'll turn around to get something from the fridge and there he is. Laying on the kitchen floor and then he'll start complaining he is hungry. Today he took the unprecedented step of coming in the cat door while I was sitting in my rocker right next to the door. For ages he's been peeking in and if he sees me he's gone. Not today. I could see just how nervous he was, but he did it. Now he has claimed the gues...